India

Mumbai, June 21: A devastating fire in the Maharashtra government secretariat, including offices of the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, today left three persons dead and 16 injured and destroyed large number of files, raising questions on whether any sabotage was the cause. Fire brigade officials said two bodies were recovered from the sixth floor of the seven-storey 'Mantralaya'

New Delhi, June 21: Reconciling with division within NDA over presidential poll, BJP today announced its support to P A Sangma to pit him against UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee. The party, which failed to persuade allies like Shiv Sena and JD(U) to support Sangma, argued that it was its duty as the main Opposition party not to allow a "walkover" to Congress which did not "consult" it. Announcing

Moradabad/ New Delhi, June 21: At a time when the SP is backing Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential race, Congress leader Rashid Alvi has sparked off a controversy by dubbing Mulayam Singh Yadav as the "biggest agent" of BJP, attracting instant disapproval from the AICC today. "I don't know if you would like it or not but I have been saying it for the last 10 years that if there is anybody who is

New Delhi, June 21: BJP biggies may have been the first to congratulate Pranab Mukherjee on his then still-rumoured move to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but the Congress decision to nominate him has created enough bitterness in the two camps that it is becoming a free-for-all. The Congress has eagerly latched on to the Nitish Kumar-Narendra Modi tussle to egg on the Bihar CM to come out of the NDA. "We

Gadchiroli (Maha), June 21: 71 elected representatives in this East Maharashtra district have resigned from their posts, apparently due to Naxal threat. Talking to reporters here this evening, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gadchiroli Zilla Parishad (ZP) Sumant Bhange said 71 elected representatives have resigned in the last one month. Of these representatives, one is Zilla Parishad member, four

New Delhi, June 21: Shaken by the rising public anger against messy implementation of the new internet-based passport application system, the ministry of external affairs on Wednesday put in place a number of measures that are expected to make it easier for people to apply for passports. Some of these measures will come into effect immediately and a few more are likely to be announced on Friday

New Delhi, June 20: Making clear its aversion for Narendra Modi, JD(U) today virtually gave an ultimatum to BJP to desist from projecting the Gujarat chief minister as NDA's prime ministerial candidate or be ready to snap the alliance. The warning was given by party general secretary Shivanand Tiwari, who said that NDA cannot come to power with a "fanatic face" and JD(U) will not compromise on

New Delhi, June 20: Former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma has decided to quit the NCP, which doesn't want him to contest the presidential election, Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy said Wednesday. "He told me that I have no option but to resign from NCP. He said he is resigning (because) his self-respect has to be protected," Swamy told the media after meeting Sangma at his residence here

Nagpur, June 20: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat Wednesday backed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a candidate for the prime minister's post and said that the country should have a PM who propounded Hindutva. "To keep alive the Hindutva ideology, the Hindu 'samaaj' (society) should come together. And the country should have a prime minister who believes in that

Patna, June 20: Shortly after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked his alliance partner, the BJP, to name a prime-ministerial candidate with secular credentials before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi toed Nitish’s line and virtually rejected Narendra Modi’s name as the alliance candidate for the “top post”. Nitish, who has assiduously